Phillips tells Pools to learn their lesson
HARTLEPOOL United manager Kevin Phillips has urged his players to learn from their mistakes ahead of today’s home game with Aldershot Town.
Pools secured a positive return from their Easter weekend fixtures after following up Saturday’s hard-earned home win against play-off contenders FC Halifax Town with a battling draw at Rochdale.
However, Phillips’ men could have enjoyed a perfect bank holiday weekend had they not conceded a 96th-minute equaliser in the latter of those fixtures as former Pools forward Devante Rodney snatch a point for the hosts.
The four points all but warned off any thoughts of being dragged into the relegation battle – but Phillips has revealed he was left frustrated by a late mistake that denied his side from taking six points from two challenging fixtures.
When asked if he was happy with the points return over Easter, he told BBC Tees Sport: “I think so, especially after the Gateshead result [a 7-1 defeat].
“To be able to turn it around and get four points out of those two fixtures against two sides, I think we would have taken that but obviously when you analyse it and look back, it should have been six points.
“It’s through our own doing that is wasn’t so frustrated, but now the dust has settled, I am still frustrated I have to say but overall I think we would have taken four points after the Gateshead game.
“You have to learn from it, we had a chat, the lads needed a couple of days to get physically and mentally get over the gruelling schedule we had, with the travelling and the types of games we experienced, the setbacks, the elations, all types of emotions.
“We needed those couple of days but I had to really push myself to watch it back, especially those last 30 seconds – but it’s about a learning curve and it’s happened three times this season, giving the ball away in wrong areas of the pitch and it’s cost us so we have to learn very, very quickly.”
Courtney Duffus has been ruled out of today’s home clash with Aldershot after suffering an ankle injury in training and could miss the remainder of the season.